Dabur withdraws Karwa Chauth ad with Lesbian couple after backlash & MP Minister's threat

After Manyavar, Tanishq and FabIndia, Dabur India became another big corporate name to enter the list of those who have had to pull back ads because of vehement backlash on social media. Apologising for allegedly hurting the sentiments of people of a particular community with their latest advertisement campaign on Karwa Chauth, the leading FMCG brand has withdrawn its advertisement from all social media platforms on Tuesday, October 25.

Dabur pulls back Karwa Chauth Ad displaying a lesbian couple after facing backlash & threats

Dabur posted the update on their official Twitter account and said, “Fem's Karwachauth campaign has been withdrawn from all social media handles and we unconditionally apologise for unintentionally hurting people’s sentiments.”

This comes amid Dabur India's beauty and cosmetics brand Fem India pursuing a creative ad campaign to display inclusivity in a typical Hindu festival. However, the Indian brand which is famous for its line of products based on Ayurveda received a lot of flak for showing a same-sex couple/lesbian couple celebrating Karwa Chauth, instead of the heterosexual couple. 

The concept of the same-sex couple observing Karva Chauth wasn’t well-received by many, who have displayed their outrage and said that the brand has targetted a ‘Hindu festival'. However, some people also appreciated the brand's creative input to perpetuate inclusivity.

MP Minister Narottam Mishra threatened Dabur to pull back ad

Dabur’s move comes a day after the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister in a press conference threatened the company in order to get it to withdraw the advertisement, or else they will have to face legal action. He said the police had been directed to order the company to pull back the advertisement. BJP MP minister Mishra attacked Dabur for making an ad about lesbians celebrating Karwa Chauth and hyperventilated saying that in the future they will show two men taking feras or marrying each other.

This is not the first time the corporates have given up their creative advertisements/ campaigns after facing backlash on social media. Earlier, a few weeks ago, another Made In India brand, FabIndia, had to withdraw their Diwali festive clothing line, called ‘Jashn-e-Riwaz’, several BJP leaders and netizens called the use of Urdu words for Diwali as the 'Abrahmization' of the Hindu festival. The brand was threatened with a boycott if the ad was not taken back. Other than this, Manyavar, another clothing brand who had shown Alia Bhatt, describing a gender-neutral meaning of Kanyadaan in the advertisement, displaying a social message, had also faced threats for attacking rituals. 

(With PTI Inputs)
(Image: Twitter)